novelSusiti Chapter 85 Royal Navy
Chapter 85 Royal Navy
Chapter 85 Royal Navy
Yung Wing smiled slightly and said, "Mr. Hong will find out later. But before that, I must introduce you to one of my companions."
No sooner had he finished speaking than there was a knock on the door.
Before Hong Ren could say "Please come in," the person outside walked in.
The man was in his early thirties, burly, dressed in Western clothing, with two revolvers strapped to his belt.
He glanced at Hong Rengan, then cupped his hands and said, "Mr. Hong Rengan, I've long admired you."
Hong Rengan returned the greeting and looked at Rong Hong: "And who is this?"
Yung Wing said, "This is Hongwu, our escort leader for this trip. Thanks to him, the fleet was able to reach Hong Kong safely."
Upon hearing the name, Hong Rengan was visibly taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"Now I believe you are not the Qing court's lackeys." He shook his head, his tone tinged with emotion. "No lackey would dare to offend the Manchus by taking such a name."
Regardless of the surname, the name Hongwu alone is not one that an ordinary person would dare to use.
That was the reign title of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, a symbol of the Ming Dynasty.
Although the intensity of literary inquisitions during the Xianfeng reign was much less than that during the Qianlong reign, he was still extremely wary of anything related to his husband, Ming Xiangmei.
Hongwu smiled slightly: "I am quite satisfied with my name."
Hong Rengan asked, "Mr. Hongwu, Mr. Rong has already told me that you have a way to send me to Tianjing."
I want to know, what method is it?
"The solution is simple. Our two ships are Western-style armed merchant ships. As long as we fly the British flag, we can blend in and get away with it."
Hong Wu said, "Before we set off, we'll hire one or two white men on the ship. If anyone dares to come over, we'll have the white men deal with them."
Hong Ren thought about it for a moment and realized that this method was indeed feasible.
The Qing navy dared not stop British ships, fearing it would cause a diplomatic incident. Foreign warships also wouldn't inspect their own personnel; after all, smuggling was so common these days, and it would be embarrassing if they accidentally inspected the wrong people.
He suppressed his excitement and asked, "When are you leaving?"
"Tomorrow."
Hongwu said, "Our ships need to replenish coal, which will take some time."
"Mr. Hong Rengan, you can also use this time to pack your luggage and say goodbye to your relatives and friends."
C
He paused for a moment, then added, "Also, before we go to Tianjing, we will go to Guangzhou first."
Hong Rengan was taken aback: "Guangzhou? For what?"
Hongwu said, "I will meet two people, Chen Kai and Li Wenmao."
Hong Rengan asked, "These names—are they those of the two marshals of the Red Turban Army?"
Hongwu nodded: "That's right, we also plan to do some business with them."
Hong Rengan shook his head and said, "Then you shouldn't go to Guangzhou, you should go to Foshan."
He stood up and walked to a map hanging on the wall. It was a hand-drawn map of the Guangdong coast; although rough, it marked the main place names.
He pointed to the western side of the Pearl River Estuary and said, "The newspapers say that at the beginning of this year, the two marshals had already led their troops to withdraw from the city of Guangzhou."
The Qing army dispatched reinforcements from Hunan, and the Red Turban Army, unable to break through, was forced to retreat. They marched west along the West River, retreating to Jiujiang Town. There, they established a new defensive line and continued their stalemate with the Qing army.
Hongwu walked to the map and stared at that location for a few seconds.
Jiujiang Town is located on the banks of the Xijiang River, less than 100 li (approximately 50 kilometers) from Guangzhou.
He turned to Rong Hong: "Mr. Rong, can our boat go in? Is the water in the West River deep enough?"
Rong Hong thought for a moment and said, "There shouldn't be any problem. The West River is the main tributary of the Pearl River and is navigable all year round."
I remember reading that the natural water depth of the Xijiang River is over four meters, and in some sections it can even reach five or six meters.
Both the "Wind Chaser" and "Wavebreaker" have a full-load draft of just over three meters, which is just right.
Meanwhile, in the bay of Lantau Island.
The Wind Chaser is slowly setting sail. The steam engine's boiler is already hot, and wisps of black smoke are rising from the chimney.
The sailors were running around on the deck, some were pulling up the mooring lines, some were raising the sails, and some were checking the gun positions.
Their target was a nearby unnamed island, which was where Liu Daba and his gang were hiding.
On the deck, Tang He was discussing the next attack plan with his suicide squad.
"Yuan Laosan has already sent over the location and topography of the island. As you can see, the island is not large, with only two or three hills."
The pirates' camp was on the leeward side of the island, and the dock was on the south side. If we sink their ships, they'll be trapped, with nowhere to run.
"Sinking it isn't a problem, but how are we going to move the treasure off the island afterwards?"
Some of the suicide bombers raised concerns: "Once the dock is blocked by sunken ships, it will be impossible to clear it in less than ten days or half a month. Moving the ships one trip at a time by small boat is too slow."
We're setting sail tomorrow and need to refuel, so we don't have much time to waste.
Tang He wagged his finger, a smug smile spreading across his face. "Who said I was going to sink them at the docks?"
"After Yuan Laosan scouted the location of the treasure yesterday, he sneaked onto the ship at night and soaked most of the gunpowder in it."
"We'll pass by the island first, pretending we're just passing by. Liu Da Ba, who suffered a great loss yesterday, will definitely be unable to hold back and will chase after us for revenge."
"As soon as his ship leaves port, we'll launch a surprise attack and, together with the Wavebreaker on the other side, wipe out all the pirates!"
The others exchanged glances and nodded: "The plan is feasible."
Half an hour later.
As the Wind Chaser cruised slowly past the island, the island instantly erupted in excitement.
The pirates who were recuperating in their camp heard the lookout's shouts and rushed out to look. When they saw the ship that had caused them so much damage, their eyes turned red with rage.
Soon, several pirate ships emerged from behind the island and chased after the Wind Chaser.
Tang He put down his binoculars, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"Here we come! Burn coal! Full speed ahead!"
Liu Daba stood at the bow of the boat, his eyes fixed on the ship in front of him.
that's it.
This is the ship that cost him over a hundred brothers yesterday, forcing him to retreat in disgrace in front of everyone.
It actually dares to show up here now.
"Full speed ahead!" Liu Daba roared. "If we don't take it down today, I'm not Liu!"
The pirate ship billowed its sails and chased after the Wind Chaser.
But the Wind Chaser seemed to have spotted them and began to accelerate.
"Trying to run?" Liu Daba sneered. "Chase him!"
The two ships, one after the other, gradually moved away from the island.
After chasing for three or four nautical miles, Liu Daba suddenly felt something was wrong.
Because the ship in front started to turn, drawing an arc on the sea.
Before he could think it through, he heard a cannon blast behind him.
boom!
The shells exploded on the sea near the ship, and the huge column of water soaked Liu Daba to the bone.
"Damn it, what kind of shell is that? It's so powerful!"
He wiped the seawater off his face, strode to the stern, and looked through his binoculars. To his surprise, he saw a ship of similar design to the Wind Chaser.
The outcome of the battle that followed was a foregone conclusion.
The pirates tried to retaliate, but found that the gunpowder wouldn't ignite. The cannons that were loaded went out halfway through the firing pins; the muskets they held in their hands didn't fire when they pulled the triggers.
"What's going on?!"
"The gunpowder has gotten damp!"
"How is that possible?! She was perfectly fine yesterday!"
The pirates could only watch helplessly as the Wind Chaser and the Wavebreaker fired one after another until they sank all the pirate ships.
One day later.
Outside the Pearl River Estuary, the sea is wide open.
The Wind Chaser cut through the waves, its steam engine humming rhythmically, and black smoke curling up from the chimney.
Hung Yan-kan, who had boarded the Wind Chaser from the small boat, stood on the ship's railing, gazing in the direction of Hong Kong Island, remaining silent for a long time.
Yung Wing walked to his side and said softly, "Mr. Hung, are you reluctant to part with him?"
Hong Rengan shook his head, then nodded.
"Five years. In Hong Kong these past five years, although I lived under an assumed name, at least I had a place to stay. Now that I'm leaving—"
He paused, then suddenly laughed: "But there's nothing I'll miss. In Hong Kong, I'm just a schoolteacher. Only in Nanjing can I do something real for this nation and this country."
Yung Wing said, "How about this? I bought some fine tea in Hong Kong yesterday. Come to my room, and we can chat over tea about your unfinished 'New Treatise on Governance'."
Upon hearing this, Hong Rengan's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "I couldn't be happier!"
"If I could receive some guidance from Mr. Rong, my book could be improved even further."
On the other deck, Hongwu was holding a nautical chart and discussing the next route with Yuan Laosan.
Yuan Laosan had been a pirate in this sea area for more than ten years, and he knew the waterways, reefs and currents of the Pearl River Estuary like the back of his hand.
"Boss, I know the hydrology of the Xijiang Estuary very well."
Yuan Laosan pointed to several places on the nautical chart and said, "I know all the reefs and shoals in this area by heart. I'm not afraid of running aground or anything like that; I'll just keep an eye on things."
"However, there is one thing to note. With two such large ships, it's impossible to hide our entry into the West River."
To cut off the Red Turban Army's supplies, the Qing government had set up Qing outposts, artillery batteries, and naval patrol boats all along both banks of the river. Even if we were flying a foreign flag, they would definitely try to stop us.
Hongwu didn't care at all: "Then open fire and sink them."
"The so-called navy of the Qing government consisted of only a few long dragon boats and fast crab boats weighing a dozen tons each, plus a bunch of sampans. Only the forts posed any real threat."
"To put it bluntly, this navy only exists because the British don't want to kill them."
By 1855, the main warships of the British Royal Navy all had a displacement of over two thousand tons, steam power was widespread, and the number and caliber of shipborne guns were large.
No wonder that after the Second Opium War began the following year, the Qing dynasty was defeated and driven directly to Beijing by the Anglo-French allied forces, and Tsarist Russia took the opportunity to seize more than 1.5 million square kilometers of territory.
Suddenly, shouts came from the observation tower.
"Boss, there are ships firing from the southwest, it's the British Navy!"
Hongwu frowned and raised his binoculars to look in that direction.
Seven or eight ships are moving rapidly on the sea to the southwest.
Those ships ahead, adorned with red banners, are pirate ships of the Red Turban Gang. They are rushing towards us with all their might, their sails billowing, and figures of people looming aboard.
A larger merchant ship, flying the British flag, was being towed behind them. The ship was listing and had a broken mast.
"That's Chen Wang's boat."
Tang He walked to Hongwu's side and whispered, "They did set sail yesterday, saying they were going to hijack a British merchant ship. I didn't expect they would actually succeed."
Hongwu's expression was solemn as he raised his binoculars and looked further into the distance.
Further out on the horizon, several dark shadows were growing larger.
One, two, three —
Those are British Royal Navy warships.
"No wonder it ran so fast, it turns out it had the Navy backing it up."
Hong Wu said, "Let me see. Two level-six ships, four gunboats, and a level-five ship following behind. They've really angered the British."
The Royal Navy uses a classification system for its fleet, from first-class to sixth-class ships, which is mainly based on the number and tonnage of the guns on board.
所谓五级舰，指的是拥有30—48门火炮，排水量700—1000吨的轻巡航舰。六级舰指的是拥有20—28门火炮，排水量400—600吨的轻巡航舰。
As for gunboats, they were small steam-powered gunboats specifically deployed by the Royal Navy to deal with coastal pirates and shallow waters. They weighed no more than 200 tons, but were maneuverable, shallow-draft, and best suited for coastal warfare.
Yuan Laosan chuckled: "They haven't untied the ropes holding the merchant ship in this situation. It seems there's something good on board. People die for wealth, birds die for food; they probably won't be willing to part with it until the very last moment."
A shout came from the lookout tower again: "Boss, the warships have separated, and one is heading this way!"
What the heck?
Hongwu moved his binoculars and saw one of the sixth-class ships suddenly change direction, break away from the pursuit formation, and head towards them. Thick smoke was billowing from the ship's smokestack, indicating that it was moving at full speed.
"Damn it, did they send one because they saw the British flag we were flying?"
Tang He nodded and said, "I guess so. They've already started using flag signals to tell us to stop and undergo inspection."
Everyone on deck stopped and looked in that direction.
"Boss, what do we do?"
The 600-ton light cruiser has a speed of about 10 knots, while the Chengfeng and Polang, which are not far away, have a maximum speed of 9 knots.
Even if they travel at full speed, they will be caught up within three hours, given the distance of several nautical miles.
Hongwu's mind raced, then he slowly exhaled a breath of stale air and said, "Full speed ahead! Let the British eat our dust for a few hours!"
"Yuan Laosan, you're familiar with this area. Find a place where it's easy to ambush us."
"Although they have more cannons, we have two ships. If we attack from both sides, we might still have a chance of winning!"
Hearing the commotion, Hong Rengan came out to investigate and was startled upon hearing this.
"You want to fight the Royal Navy? Can't we just stop and let them inspect us?"
Hongwu sneered: "Stop? If they catch us today and find out about the guns and cannons on the ship, none of us will survive."
He paused, then said, "Besides, this is the open sea. Even if it's sunk, they'll only blame the pirates. What's there to be afraid of?"